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Burma or Myanmar
The name of the country has been a matter of dispute and disagreement, particularly in the early 21st century, focusing mainly on the political legitimacy of those using Myanmar versus Burma. Both names derive from the earlier Burmese Mranma or Mramma, an ethnonym for the majority Burman ethnic group. There is not much difference in meaning between these two words.
The ruling military regime changed the name ‘Burma’ to ‘Myanmar’ in 1998 Thousands were killed in the most popular uprising Movement in Burmese history, called the 8888 Movement. They changed the capital of Burma from Rangoon to Yangon and many others, again the meaning is the same.
Most Burmese and pro-democracy movements do not recognise the move as it was not the will and decision of the Burmese people. The motive likely behind the regime’s move was breaking from colonial past, nevertheless it created confusion locally and internationally. Many digital systems do not recognise the word ‘Myanmar’ instead of ‘Burma’, many foreigners struggle to pronounce it correctly as well. People like ourselves love to be called ‘Burmese’, we will still call ‘Burma’ as long as we are speaking English, I am sure the majority of Burmese will use the word ‘Myanmar’ in their conversations in Burmese. People are most welcome to use either name, whichever is easier for you to pronounce as United Nations does.
Brief History of Burma
Since ancient times, the land known today as Myanmar has been famous for its wealth in natural resources of all kinds. The Sanskrit name Suvarnabhumi, meaning “Golden Land,” has been associated with Myanmar for over two millennia. Today, Myanmar’s natural resources include oil and gas, various minerals, precious stones and gems, timber and forest products, hydropower potential, etc. Of these, natural gas, rubies, jade, and timber logs are the most valuable and currently provide a substantial proportion of national income.
An assortment of progressive kingdoms ruled this region long before it became Burma. The Pagan Dynasty (849) was the first kingdom to unify the regions as one and about which there are historical records. The principal city became a hub for Buddhism where thousands of temples were built.
From 1824-1885 the British took steps to conquer the country and colonial rule brought in a large India population as civil servants as well as a large contingency of Chinese traders.
WWIl saw the Japanese join forces with Burma to drive out the British and declare independence. However, Burma ended up switching back to the Allies to drive out the Japanese by the end of the war after losing faith with the country.
General Aung San (Aung San Su Kyi’s father) steered the country on this journey to independence but was assassinated by a rival before he could take elected office in 1947. Political conflict ensued.
Socialist General Ne Win led a military coup in 1962 and began a programme of nationalisation therefore effectively crippling the economy. August 1988, the army cracked down on protesters, leaving approximately 3000 dead and displacing thousands more.
General elections were held in Myanmar on 27 May 1990, the first multi-party elections since 1960. The result was a landslide win for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), which won 392 of the 492 seats. However, the military junta refused to recognise the results.
In 2015, Myanmar held its first nationwide, multiparty elections—considered to be the freest and fairest elections in decades—since the country’s transition away from military rule. Suu Kyi’s opposition NLD party won a landslide victory, securing a majority in the upper and lower houses of parliament. But Tatmadaw (Military) continued to wield much control. The 2008 constitution includes several provisions to protect the military’s dominance
Military Coup
In 2020, Myanmar held its second national elections under civilian rule, which the NLD party overwhelmingly won. The military suffered a major blow in the elections: the USDP (Military Backed Party) won just 33 of 476 available seats, while the NLD won 396. Military leaders alleged voter fraud, and after the country’s election commission rejected the military’s claims, it staged a coup in February 2021. The military detained and charged Suu Kyi and others prominent political leaders across all political spectrum, and announced that Coup leader General Min Aung Hlaing would take charge of Myanmar during a state of emergency.
The move triggered pro-democracy protests nationwide, which in turn saw the nation’s newly emboldened security forces launch an ongoing and deadly crackdown on demonstrators, leading to many deaths and much displacement.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Bogyoke Aung San, rose to prominence during the 1988 protests. After the crackdown, she and others formed the NLD opposition party. She was detained in 1989 and spent more than fifteen years in prison and under house arrest until her release in 2010. In 1991, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while still under house arrest. She used all her wealth and her family relationship for the sake of Burma, her husband passed away while she was under house arrest on March 1999.
Suu Kyi became Myanmar’s de facto leader in 2015. The constitution openly prevents her from assuming the title of president
The NUG
The National Unity Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar is a Burmese government in exile formed by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a group of elected lawmakers ousted in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. It includes representatives of the National League for Democracy (the deposed ruling party of former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi), ethnic minority insurgent groups, and various minor parties. The State Administration Council—the country's ruling military junta—has declared the NUG illegal.
The NUG has sought international recognition as the government of Myanmar and gained a lot of support from the people of Myanmar, the most interesting part of this newly formed government in short period is all minorities become majority in the government, many ministers are from ethnic minority backgrounds unlike any other government in the history of Burma and surprisingly one third of the members are from Christian backgrounds.
Christianity in Burma
Christianity in Myanmar has a history dating to the early 18th century. According to the 2016 census, Christianity is the country's second largest religion, practiced by 6.3% of the population, primarily among the Kachin, Chin and Kayin (Karen),
Burma's ruling military regime is guided by a belief described in Burmese as "Amyo, Batha, Thatana" – "One race, one language, one religion."The race is Burman, the language is Burmese and the religion is Buddhism – and citizens who do not conform to the regime's version of these face potentially serious consequences.
Christians in Burma face varying degrees of discrimination, restrictions and in some places violent persecution. Although the level of hardship varies depending on other circumstances, there is no doubt that the regime demonstrates an explicit bias against Christians and uses propaganda to generate anti-Christian sentiment, regulations to restrict Christian activity and violence to subjugate and even attempt to eliminate some of the Christian population.
What could you do?
Spiritual Help
As a Christian I pray that God will not Judge the nation wholly by their wrong worship. According to the bible, we witness the haggling between Abraham and God, that God will spare the people if there are 10 righteous in Sodom and Gomorrah ( Genesis 18) .” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” Gen 18:32b , evidently there are many Christian brothers and sisters who have faithfully served the LORD amidst all sorts of persecutions, please do not forget that Christianity is second largest religion in Burma. Your earnest prayer can change the nation and even natural disaster as God promise in the book of James 5: 16-17 “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” James 5: 16b . . Since military coup in February 2021, I started a prayer group and it is ongoing every weekday on Zoom.